Golf in the United States is played by about 25 million people, or 8% of the population. [1]
Professional golf is aired on several television networks, such as Golf Channel, NBC, ESPN, TNT, CBS and Fox.
The United States Golf Association has about 10,000 club members and courses. The organization is responsible for the Rules of Golf together with the British-based R&A.
The USGA conducts national championships open to professionals: the U.S. Open (since 1895), U.S. Women's Open (since 1946), U.S. Senior Open (since 1980), and U.S. Senior Women's Open (since 2018), as well as national championships for amateur, juniors, seniors and four-ball teams.
The USGA co-organizes the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup together with the respective British & Irish organizations, and competes at the Eisenhower Trophy and Espirito Santo Trophy, which are amateur tournaments for national teams. Also, the USGA gives the Bob Jones Award recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf since 1955.
The Professional Golfers' Association of America was founded in 1916 and has 28,000 club professional members. They organize three tournaments for tour players: the PGA Championship (since 1916), Senior PGA Championship (since 1937) and Women's PGA Championship (since 2015), as well as the PGA Professional National Championship (since 1968) for club players. The PGA of America also co-organizes the Ryder Cup and PGA Cup.
The PGA Tour is the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was established by the PGA of America in 1929 and was spun off in 1968.
Its calendar features the four major tournaments and World Golf Championships, but do not organize them. The PGA Tour organizes several tournaments, most notably The Players Championship and Tour Championship. In addition it co-organizes the biennial Presidents Cup.
The PGA Tour also operates other professional tours. The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour since 1990. PGA Tour Champions has been the main senior tour since 1980, and the PGA Tour organizes two of the five senior major championships: The Tradition and Senior Players Championship. The organization also operates tours in Canada, Latin America and China.
There is not a well defined third tier of golf tours in the United States. The larger regional tours include the Gateway Tour and Swing Thought Tour; there is a constantly changing roster of small "mini-tours".
The LPGA Tour is the main women's professional tour, founded in 1950. Its calendar features several major championships and national golf opens. It organizes several tournaments, including the ANA Inspiration, one of the major tournaments, and the CME Group Tour Championship. The LPGA Tour also co-organizes the biennial Solheim Cup. The Symetra Tour has been the official development tour of the LPGA Tour since 1999.
The current television partners of the PGA Tour are CBS, NBC and the Golf Channel. NBC also airs the British Open, Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and Solheim Cup. CBS also carries the Masters and PGA Championship. The Golf Channel also carries the European Tour and LPGA Tour.
Fox has a contract with the USGA since 2015 to air the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open.
ESPN aired several golf tournaments from 1979 to 2015. It carries the early rounds of the Masters and the PGA Championship.
Notable dedicated magazines include Golf Digest (1950, Condé Nast), Golf Magazine (1959, Time Inc.), Golfweek (1975, Gannett), and Links (1988, Purcell).
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The Professional Golfers' Association of America is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf.
The Women's PGA Championship is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the Ladies European Tour, which does not recognize any of the three majors played in the United States.
Michelle Sung Wie West is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the youngest to qualify for an LPGA Tour event. She turned professional shortly before her 16th birthday in 2005, accompanied by an enormous amount of publicity and endorsements. She won her first and only major at the 2014 U.S. Women's Open.
The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, Women's Open Championship, and The Evian Championship.
Karen Louise Stupples is an English former professional golfer who played primarily on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and was also a member of the Ladies European Tour.
Juli Inkster is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. With a professional career spanning 29 years to date, Inkster's 31 wins rank her second in wins among all active players on the LPGA Tour; she has over $14 million in career earnings. She also has more wins in Solheim Cup matches than any other American, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Inkster is the only golfer in LPGA Tour history to win two majors in a decade for three consecutive decades by winning three in the 1980s, two in the 1990s, and two in the 2000s.
Dottie Pepper is an American professional golfer and television golf broadcaster. From 1988 to 1995 she competed as Dottie Mochrie, which was her married name before a divorce. She won two major championships and 17 LPGA Tour events in all.
JoAnne Gunderson Carner is an American former professional golfer. Her 43 victories on the LPGA Tour led to her induction in the World Golf Hall of Fame. She is the only woman to have won the U.S. Girls' Junior, U.S. Women's Amateur, and U.S. Women's Open titles, and was the first person ever to win three different USGA championship events. Tiger Woods is the only man to have won the equivalent three USGA titles. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Carol Semple Thompson have also won three different USGA titles.
Cristie Kerr is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She has 20 wins on the LPGA Tour, including two major championships, and over $19 million in career earnings. Kerr was the number one-ranked golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings for three time periods in 2010. She is naturally left handed but plays golf right handed.
Brittany Grace Lincicome is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She currently resides in Gulfport, Florida.
This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2007.
Golf telecasts have aired on NBC since 1954, with some of its earliest telecasts having included the 1954 U.S. Open, and the first televised coverage of the Ryder Cup in 1959.
Golf coverage on ESPN has been a regular feature of the cable sports channels' programming since soon after ESPN's launch in the United States in 1979.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to golf:
This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2013.
Lucy Li is an American professional golfer. She currently holds records as the youngest qualifier for the U.S. Women's Amateur and the U.S. Women's Open. She is the second-youngest qualifier for the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, and the youngest ever to advance to match play in that event. Li was an age group winner at the inaugural Masters Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship in Augusta, Georgia. As of 2014, she is a student of Jim McLean.
The U.S. Senior Women's Open is one of fourteen U.S. national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association. This USGA championship is open to women whose 50th birthday falls on or before the first day of competition and hold a handicap index not exceeding 7.4. It is part of the Legends of the LPGA Tour. The inaugural championship was held in 2018 at the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois.
This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2017.
This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2021.
The 2022 U.S. Senior Women's Open took place August 25–28 at NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, and was the fourth U.S. Senior Women's Open. It was a professional golf tournament organized by the United States Golf Association, open to women over 50 years of age.
